Salad of Mâche with Raw Asparagus, Pistachios, and Parmigiano-Reggiano

For most of the spring our farmer's market doesn't offer much in the way of local produce. We usually have asparagus by this time but only just. There's spinach, arugula (although I have a feeling the stuff I buy is greenhouse grown but still, locally), a miscellaneous green or two, some herbs, and really, that's about it.

One thing that our farmer's market just started carrying this spring is mâche, a salad green I had read about in cookbooks, but had never seen until early, early this spring when I found them at the farmer's market.

Mâche's taste is pleasant and mild. Its leaves form little rosettes of soft, deep green and at my farmer's market they're sold with roots still attached which seems to be a common practice with mâche. One of mâche's virtues is that it grows in weather too cold for lettuce and other salad greens which is why they're among the small number of locally grown items available in Baltimore in April.

Most recipes I found for it suggest a simple, not too sharp vinaigrette. Mâche also seems to have an affinity for beets -- many of the recipes I found online were for salads that include beets. However, since I have no affinity for beets, I have not tried any of them. Susan Hermann Loomis in the French Farmhouse Cookbook (my current go-to book for French cooking matters) says to dress mâche with a vinaigrette made with shallots and says that shallots "enhance its delicacy."

Because of the little roots with soil still attached, mâche takes some effort to clean. All of its little roots need to be trimmed off and you have to make sure that no dirt has collected in the leaves. Susan Hermann Loomis says that the rule she learned while an apprentice at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine was to rinse it seven times. No less!

I'm just not that scrupulous nor is my attention span long enough to take me through seven rinsings. Besides I didn't come across the seven-times rule until I had prepared mâche several times using my method which is to trim the roots first, then wash it by filling a large bowl with water and swishing it about. I usually go through about three changes of water and when I stop finding grit in the bottom of the bowl, I deem it clean enough.

During the nor'easter we had a few weekends ago I made a meal for my parents of mâche dressed with olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper, and then sprinkled with the crumbled yolk of a hard-boiled egg. We ate it with Julia Child's leek and potato soup and together they made a good lunch for a day of torrential rain. Leek and potato soup is filling and warming, and the salad of mâche looked cheerful and spring-like with its dark green leaves and little bits of bright yellow egg yolk.

That evening back at home I used mâche again to make a salad from The Gourmet Cookbook which is a huge and wonderful cookbook -- and I'm amazed to see that new copies are only $12 on Amazon. That's an astonishingly good price for this very worthwhile book.

The salad recipe is originally from Judy Rodgers of Zuni Cafe fame. If you don't have mâche it would work with a butter lettuce. The raw asparagus is sweet and partners well with the salty sharpness of the parm.

1. Warm the pistachios in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Watch them closely, nuts burn easily, shake the pan frequently, and take them off the heat when they become fragrant -- about two or three minutes.

2. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and salt to taste.

3. Cut the tips off the asparagus and reserve them for another use. Cut the asparagus spears on the diagonal in slices 1/8 inch thick.

4. Toss the mâche, asparagus, and pistachios with just enough vinaigrette to coat them. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the cheese on top.

I've never had raw asparagus either, although it is almost raw when I stir fry it at times. This is a wonderful looking salad. I love pistachios in salad, they add a lovely texture to anything, but in salad, it's perfect. Thanks for the recipe! :)

Our farmer's market is still leaning towards flowers and apples, but I did see some dandelion greens and mâche on Saturday. Surprisingly, I've never tried mâche either but since it's fresh and available it's about time that I do. Sounds delicate and lovely, perfect for spring!

Asparagus showed up at the market yesterday. I lost my head. I bought two bundles. That's one each for me and the boyfriend. Crazy. This is such a lovely sounding recipe, but I think I'd like a combo of the two you mentioned most, crumbled egg yolks are so wonderful!

I agree that the Gourmet Cookbook is terrific. It seems to have gotten a bad rap due to using that yellow type for the recipe titles, which may have been a bad choice, but surely not a reason to condemn the whole book!! But for some reason it doesn't seem to have caught on like other books.

Fairfax, I’m always excited when the downtown market opens. Except I like to go to the Waverly market and I don’t want to miss the downtown market so I end up going to both markets every weekend. I guess it’s kind of a recreational thing.

Mary, it may turn up at your farmer’s market. I’ve noticed that the variety at our local farmer’s market has very slowly but steadily expanded.

Alanna, it wasn’t something that would have occurred to me, but it really works well in this salad.

Sher, my stir fried asparagus is always more on the raw than the thoroughly cooked side. In fact, when asparagus loses its crispiness I find it unappealing.

Luisa, that’s interesting that you describe its flavor as floral. Susan Hermann Loomis describes it as violet.

Lisa, one of the things I like about the farmer’s market is being introduced to new vegetables. Although dandelions are on the list of things I’ve never tried.

Ximena, this is late, but I hope you saw Lindy’s asparagus soup recipe http://www.lindystoast.com/2007/05/still_cooking_v.html which looked like another interesting thing to do with asparagus.

Ann, asparagus season is short – I’d say it’s mostly over here – and you have to eat it while you can.

Angela, well you know my whole Paris obsession. I hadn’t thought of eating mâche as French, but now that you say it…

Vanessa, mâche is so new to me that it’s amazing to see how many people out there seem to have a long-time romance going with it.

Rebecca, the yellow type in the titles is frequently mentioned as a complaint in Amazon reviews and when I first picked the book up it bothered me. But now I find I don’t even notice it.

Terry B., I think slicing it thin is important. I also like raw vegetables or vegetables on the crunchy side but I know that not everyone does.

Blueplate, this is a salad that would work without the mâche. I think butter lettuce or even baby greens would work.

Anne, this salad is full of good things for a pregnant woman. All that folic-acid sort of stuff. Good for you!

Susan, I hope you like it.

FL@H, the Central Markethouse in York? I haven’t thought about that place in years. What a great place to go.

John, maybe you’ll like asparagus better raw. There are vegetables that I don’t care for at all in their cooked state but which I love raw.

Sarah, I’m usually in a salad rut myself so I understand.

Lindy, I like the arugula idea. And that’s certainly a lot more available than mâche, at least where I am.

TBC, I just took a look at those. They sound great. I have really enjoyed her French Farm House Cooking book and also another one she did on American Farm House Cooking.

Tea, yes, absolutely! And one of the great things about food blogging is constantly being introduced to new things.